Sparks Fly
by chloebeale
Summary: Despite her long standing crush on Owen, Tori pushes her feelings for her best friend's brother away in favor of a relationship with Zig. But when Zig cheats on her, she's thrust into the arms of the one person she's wanted all along.


She had admired him for such a long time. He was the tall, dark and handsome type, and a total bad boy, which she had a taste for. Tori spent years pining after him, watching him out of the corner of her eye whilst trying to pretend to be interested in whatever chick flick Tristan had chosen for tonight's sleepover. She knew he was older than her but not by that much- she was sixteen and he was eighteen. Two years didn't mean much at all to her. Besides, didn't they always say that age was just a number?

Her crush on Owen prospered through the years, refusing to go away even when she started dating other boys. But throughout her forbidden crush, the object of her affection remained blissfully unaware of her feelings and for the most part, of her existence.

Owen didn't_ truly_ see her until the day that Tristan went missing. They were all concerned about him and suspiciously, Owen's hockey teammate Luke was in possession of what looked like Tristan's phone. She couldn't stop replaying the way he looked at her right before, as if asking for permission to pummel Luke. Permission that she easily granted.

Later that night, Owen spoke to her, catching her in the hall after the performance.

"You were great." He told her and she felt her cheeks practically burst into flames when he said so. She mumbled a quick thank you and was about to walk away when he touched her shoulder. Tori spun around, trembling slightly from the unexpected touch, and gave him a questioning glance. "I just..wanted to say thank you. For being such a good friend to Tris. It hasn't been easy for him especially lately but you always make him happy. I know that it may not seem like it, but my brother means a lot to me. And you mean everything to him." A faint smile came to his lips and her heart fluttered.

"O-of course, yeah. Tristan is the best person I know, I can't help but be his friend." She managed, meeting Owen's gaze shyly.

"Loveable little shit, isn't he?" He laughed, straightening his jacket and glancing up as his brother joined them. "Hey, bro. You were awesome." Owen put his arm halfway around Tristan and gave him an awkward hug.

"Wow, thanks, Owen." He hadn't been expecting his brother to be so nice to him. It wasn't his style, especially in public.

Owen nodded. "No prob. How about I take you and your friend out for a slice of pizza?" He offered.

Tristan quickly agreed and looked to Tori.

"Sure, let me just say bye to Zig."

Her boyfriend had come to see her in the play and she didn't want to be rude. She considered inviting him but decided against it, thanking him for coming and giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before hurriedly catching up with the Milligan brothers. Owen took them to the parking lot and they loaded up in his car, Tristan and Tori opting for the back seat.

"I feel like a chauffeur." Owen mused as he pulled out of his spot and put the car in drive. He glanced at the two of them in the rear view mirror and Tori could have sworn she saw him smile at her.

Tristan was oblivious. He looked at Tori and then exclaimed, "I've got a hankering for pizza, driver! Take us to the nearest pizza parlor!"

Owen rolled his eyes. "Don't push it, bro." He warned, stopping at the red light and turning to look at them. "This is a special occasion. Don't get used to it."

"Alright, alright. I won't. It's totally cool though, Owen. I would have never imagined you would ever, in a million years, be seen in public with me." At least, that's how it always had been. Ever since he'd started at Degrassi, Owen had avoided him. Most of the hockey players were completely unaware that he and the 'gay niner' were related.

His brother smirked. "Things change. Now I'm not gonna hold your hand in the hallways and braid your hair between classes, but I'm not gonna take people's shit, either." He explained as he pulled into the parking lot of the pizza place. "If anyone gives you problems, just let me know and I'll deal with it." Owen continued, putting the car in park and quickly removing his seat belt.

The three of them got out of the vehicle and started toward the pizza parlor. Tori and Owen exchanged a glance, which sent her stomach into butterflies yet again. They found a booth open and sat down, poring over the menu.

"How do you feel about stuffed crust?" Owen wondered, looking at Tori for a reply. Her cheeks burned red.

"I could be good with that." She managed, trying her best not to stumble over her words.

Owen nodded, raising his eyebrows and catching Tristan's gaze. He echoed the sentiment and they began discussing topping ideas, finally deciding and ordering a pepperoni and sausage stuffed crust pizza with extra cheese. They sipped at their drinks, making idle conversation. When they got their pizza, they took their time eating, continuing to bond with one another. After they were done, Owen dropped Tori back off at home, and she spent the rest of the night replaying tonight's events in her mind, wondering if Owen could ever return her feelings. But she was with Zig now and he was great, a good boyfriend, cute, caring...he didn't deserve for her to break his heart. And so she tried her best to file her feelings away.

Everything changed when she accidentally walked in on Maya and Zig exchanging a kiss. They had been "practicing," they said, and since Zig was her boyfriend and Maya was her close friend, she'd trusted them.

"I can't believe this." She said tearfully as they pulled away from each other, guilty looks on their faces. As Tori spun around and rushed out of the room, crying hard as she stumbled through the school hall. Zig hurried after her but she pushed him away. "No-don't even, Zig. I was good to you. Just don't. We're over." She spat, heading off in the other direction, leaving Zig and moments later, Maya, alone to continue wherever they'd left off.

Tori couldn't believe it. She'd taken a chance on Zig, even when she'd had feelings for someone else. She gave him the benefit of the doubt and then he did this. Maya and Zig were dead to her, she thought as she slowed, wiping her eyes as she walked toward the exit. She was so lost in her inner turmoil that she wasn't paying much attention to where she was going. As she approached the exit, she ran directly into Owen, who immediately noticed her distress.

"What's up? What happened?" His hands held her shoulders and Tori gazed up at him, wiping desperately at the spot under her eyes where she was sure her makeup was running.

"I...I walked in on Zig kissing Maya."

"Zig. Your boyfriend, right?"

"Not anymore."

"Want me to kick his ass?" He offered, causing Tori to laugh as intended. Owen wiped her tear-streaked cheek with his thumb and smiled at her. "I'm serious, just give me the word and I'll beat the shit out of that cheating niner punk."

Tori smiled. "That's okay. I didn't deserve him anyway." She admitted vaguely, meaning that she'd had feelings for someone else while dating him. She couldn't blame him for cheating, she had been cheating too, emotionally.

"Don't say that, Tori." He seemed so serious...and sweet. She'd never seen this side of him before. "He didn't deserve _you._ I know we don't necessarily know each other that well personally, but you're at my house a lot, alright? I've picked up a few things about you. You're a great girl. Any guy who would do that to you isn't worth crying over."

His kind words almost sent her into tears again. She barely managed to thank him. Owen's hand patted her shoulder and he offered her a light grin.

"How about I give you a ride home?"

"I guess that would be okay..." Tori followed him out to the school parking lot, trying her best not to squeal about how sweet and chivalrous he was being. "Although," She continued bravely. "I'd rather spend some more time with you than stay at home crying my eyes out all night."

Owen nodded, opening the car door for her. "Sure. Anything that makes things better, I'm cool with." He shut the door when she climbed in and rounded the car to the driver's side. He opened the door and slid into the seat, looking up at Tori when he realized she was giving him a strange look. "What?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She finally vocalized what she'd been thinking during this entire conversation.

He sighed. "I know how it feels to have your heart smashed. I was with this girl and..." He paused, not going into detail about what had happened with her. But Tori could see the pain in his eyes. "It didn't end well. I've been there. And I had friends who helped me through the hard times, and so that's what I'm going to do for you."

Tori put on her seat belt and listened as the car roared to life.

"You consider me a friend?" Her tone indicated surprise.

Owen held back a laugh at her surprise. "I guess I do. Do you have a problem with that?" He challenged, lifting his eyebrows. She shook her head emphatically. "Alright then. You do realize that Tristan's probably going to be less than enthusiastic about our friendship, though, right?"

"Let me deal with your brother."

He put his hands in the air in faux surrender. "Whatever you say, kid." Chuckling, he placed one hand on the wheel and the other on the gear shift, shifting into reverse and pulling the vehicle out of the parking lot.

Tori protested, hitting Owen's arm. "You did_ not_ just call me a kid. I'm two years younger than you. _Two._"

Driving in the direction of his house, he glanced over at her. She was glaring at him and he chuckled before returning his eyes to the road.

"You're right, I'm sorry." Neither of them spoke, occupied instead by their own thoughts as they sat next to one another.

Owen felt a spark with Tori, something he hadn't felt in awhile. Sure, he'd had some feelings for Bianca, but they weren't serious. He hadn't really dated anyone since Anya. Something about this sixteen year old girl beside him brought out the side of him that he'd forgotten existed. He cared about her immensely, although he couldn't explain exactly why. She was naive and fragile, she had an innocence that he so admired. Her smile was the truest thing he'd ever seen, and when he saw her crying, he wanted to turn around and kick the shit out of the twerp who'd done this to her. Owen had hardened himself over the years, it was just part of his image, but deep down he wanted what everyone did. He desperately wanted love.

When things had ended with Anya, it had been beyond difficult. He'd sworn that he'd never let anyone close again. But slowly and surely, he brought Tori closer and closer. She wasn't that close. Not yet. But he wanted her to be, and that's what scared him the most.

All of these things ran through his mind as he drove her to his house, gripping the steering wheel with an unusual intensity. His heart was beating a little faster than usual as he felt Tori's dark eyes on him from her spot in the passenger seat. Every now and then he would glance over at her and she'd flash him one of her thousand watt smiles and he would feel himself smiling back without question.

Once he reached his driveway, Owen parked the car and pulled the key out of the ignition. He hadn't really thought this through. Tristan was going to be here and he was going to ask questions, which he himself didn't really want to answer. But he'd already made the decision to invite Tori over. It wasn't like he was scared of his little brother...he just didn't want to have to be faced with the same questions he kept asking himself.

Without a word, Owen unhooked his seat belt and started out of the car. Tori followed after him, confused as to why he was being so quiet. Her hand fell on his shoulder as they reached the front door.

"Owen?" Tori asked him with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

Spinning around at her touch, his gaze fell onto her. Owen shook his head in response, unable to control it when his arms began to encircle her. "I'm really not." He admitted before he leaned forward, bringing their lips crashing together. The younger girl leaned against his body for support, kissing him back just as eagerly. Her fingers met the back of his hair as she deepened the kiss, desperate for him to know that she returned his feelings.

"Wow. Oh...wow." Tori stammered when their lips finally parted. Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest.

"Yeah. I know." Owen murmured, dropping his arms before uncertainly lacing his fingers through hers. "Come in." He opened the door and walked inside, pulling her with him. Stealthily they crept down the hall and to his bedroom, the door to which he immediately closed and locked behind them. "Can't be too careful. Tris would have a cow."

Tori grinned. "As funny as that image is, I don't want to talk about your brother."

She looked around his room with interest. She'd never been inside, it was like being in the inner sanctum. The room itself was rather plain, there was a shelf of sports memorabilia, a poster or two of a scantily clad woman, nothing too interesting. She stopped at his bed and sat daringly on the edge, catching Owen's eye as she did so.

"Why did you kiss me?" She got straight to the point.

Owen stepped toward her, his mouth a straight line, his eyes serious. "I kissed you because it was becoming too hard not to."

Tori grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and pulled him down into another kiss. She smiled against his lips and then looked at him with amusement. "That was a good answer."

He couldn't wipe his own smile off his face as he gingerly sat down beside of her. He reached for her hand, looking down at how small and dainty her fingers were. Her hand was cold against his and he placed it between both of his hands, rubbing them together to try to warm hers. When her hand felt like it was beginning to thaw, Owen placed it on his knee and stared at her, trying to find the right words to say.

"There's probably a million reasons why we shouldn't do this. The biggest being Tristan-and yet...I can't bring myself to care." He admitted. "It's been a long time since I've liked someone and Tori, I really, really like you. You make me want to be a better man. When I kissed you, it was like sparks were flying all over the place and I knew I couldn't go back. I don't want to go back. But, ugh. I feel like a pussy saying all this. Don't dare tell anyone that I'm-"

"Secretly a cuddly little teddy bear?" She finished, teasingly.

"You're not making this easy." Owen responded, biting his lip. He smiled despite it all, the teasing was, in itself, adorable. Just as she always had been. "I don't want to rush you into anything, what with what happened with Zig."

"Forget Zig. I already have." Tori's hand squeezed his knee and she let out a little sigh of happiness. "Owen, I've been blatantly crushing on you for the past few years. As many times as I wished this would happen, I never thought it would. You're just so..."

"Badass? Cool? Sexy? Perfect?"

"Among other things." She giggled. Owen rolled his eyes but squeezed her hand, bringing his lips to her cheek.

"So we're really doing this?" He knew that being a senior dating a niner would be seen as unusual. He wasn't even entirely sure if he wanted to make their relationship public. The school year was almost over, anyway, so what was the point?

Tori nodded. "Uh huh." She turned her head quickly enough to sneak a kiss to his lips. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she could feel her entire body break out into tingles. "We should...probably tell Tristan. You know. Before he hears it somewhere else."

Immediately the smile left his face. Owen stood up and paced the room, sighing every so often. "Fuck." He mumbled to himself. Tori shot him a look and he stopped, his hands burrowing into the pockets of his jeans. "Fine. We'll tell him. But we haven't worked everything out yet, Tor. I'm not sure if we should even be couple-y at school. It could be fun keeping things a secret for awhile. Secrets _are_ pretty sexy."

"No, no, mister. We're not waiting to tell Tristan. I can't LIE to my best friend!" Tori rose from her place on Owen's bed and grabbed his hand forcefully before she dragged him out of the room. The sight was funny, the shorter girl pulling the older, bigger guy down the hallway, but there was no one around to see it.

She didn't bother to knock, opening the door without a word. Tristan was singing and dancing along to the newest Lady GaGa song, and upon realizing that Tori and Owen were standing there, his face turned bright red. He switched off the stereo and then his eyes traveled to Tori and Owen's hands, which were laced together. His brother and his best friend were _holding hands._

"Am I missing something here?" Tristan asked, his eyes wide.

Owen dropped Tori's hand. "Yeah, uh..." He began.

"Let me." Tori smiled at him before stepping toward her best friend. "Zig and Maya were kissing. I walked in on them. I broke up with his cheating ass. I ran into Owen, and we talked. I've liked him forever, Tris, you know that, and-"

"And I kissed her." Owen finished, stepping next to Tori.

Tristan stared at both of them, unable to fathom anything they'd just said. He held up a finger and wrinkled his nose.

"Uh. Give me a minute." He turned around, letting everything sink in for a moment. He let out a laugh and turned back around to face them. "For one thing? Ew. Tor, you could _seriously_ do better than my neanderthal brother. And Owen, god, couldn't you find some desperate girl your own age?"

Tori gasped, offended by Tristan's word choice.

"I am NOT desperate!"

"I wasn't saying you were." He defended himself.

Owen smirked, putting Tristan's in a headlock and messing up his hair with his fist, listening to his younger brother screech and scream in protest. "You little shit. Just admit it, you're happy for us."

Pushing Owen away, Tristan tried his best to salvage his hair. He regarded both of them with a suspicious eye.

"Fine. I'm _happy_ for you. But we've got to lay some ground rules. No making out at our sleepovers, no double dates, no..." He continued on for a good five minutes and the three of them agreed on the rules. "Okay, you two run off to make out. I'm going to continue starring in my one man show-Lady Gaga: THE MUSICAL." Tristan pushed them out of the doorway and slammed the door behind them.

Once they were gone, he smiled to himself. _Finally,_ he thought. Although he'd played the part of an extremely disgusted brother and friend, he'd been secretly hoping Tori and Owen would hook up. He thought they would be great for each other. From what he'd seen of Owen's relationship with Anya, Tristan had discovered that his brother was actually a good boyfriend, and he figured dating Tori would lighten him up a little. It was a win/win, really.

Meanwhile, Tori and Owen returned to his room, completely unaware that they had set Tristan's plan in motion. Owen turned on a horror movie and the two of them got into bed, cuddling together in a fairly innocent manner as they watched. Occasionally they would share a mini make out session, but nothing more. He liked the fact that she was innocent and younger than he was, and he didn't want to take that away from her too soon. For once, Owen cared more about the girl he was with than getting some. And well, he figured that in itself was the whole point.


End file.
